Waterless gasometer



Aug. 8, 1933- G. v. HANFFsTENGl-:L

WATERLES S GAS OMETER Filed Dec. 28, 1928 flflllllllrlnrlllltrlllnffllln Fig.2.

In ven for f7 "W Patented Aug. 8,

WATERLESS GASRIETER Georg v. I-lanistengel, Nurnbcrg, Germany, as-

signor to Maschinenfabrik Augsburg-Nurnberg A.-G., Nurnberg, Germany, a Corporation of Germany Aprilia-,tien December sa, 1928, sensi Ns. 329,059, and in Germany January 4, 1928 2 Claims. (Cl. L184476) My invention relates to waterless gasometers adapted for use in storing large quantities of gas in the open under vexposure to the elements (ie, wind pressure, snow, etc), and has for its ob- 5 ject to provide a sealing means for gasometers of the disc type to seal in an efficient and reliable manner the clearance gap between the ver icaiiy movable closure discand the inneriaces oiithe walls of the gasometer so to prevent leakage of gas through such gap. W ith this end in View, my novel sealing means is composed of a closed metallic ring, which is of uniform cross-section and of uniform strength throughout, so that it will expand and contract Aunii rmly throughout its entire circumference, and is rendered pliable so as to conform readily to irregularities in the container wail by subjecting the same to a more orv less uniform" pressure throughout its entire circumference and by so proportioning that 2o its elastic expansion under the influence oil pressure supplies the necessary oliability.V

In the accompanying drawing which illustrates by way of example a form oi invention as applied to a without, however, deiin- :ng its limits, l eher-.1s a vertical section throufrii a 'pa-it ci the gasometer; Fig. 2 is a diagrammatic View on a smaller scale illustrating the principle of my invention and 37is a View similar to Fig. i but shows a slightly modified construction wherein the use of packi; element is dispensed with. Y

The gasometer shell is indicated at a and is reinforced in the well-knownmanner by the posts b. A closure disc c is arranged inside of the shell and serves as the upper closure therefor. According to the invention, a vertical ring f surrounds the edge d of the disc'c and is attached to said edge by means of a connection or lstrip e composed of textile material, leather or other suitable material. This ring f may be provided with packing or sealing bodies g made of felt or similar material, and in order to insure a more nearly perfect seal the annular trough between the disc c and the wall a is filled with a liquid which, because of its lubricating action, serves at the same time to reduce the resistance to the movement of the disc. Y

The ring f and g are pressed toward the inte or face or" the container wall by means of a number oi v hted leversh which are arranged upon the disc e about the circumference of the latter, the lever-:sh being acted upon by weights i, or" which only one is shown.

In order to permit the ring f to conform readily to all irregularities of the inner surface of the shell of the container, it is made of uniform cross-section and uniform strength of material throughout, and its dimensions are so proportioned, relative to such Wall, that it is expanded uniformly by pressure exerted `outwardly thereagainstby the weighted levers, and to such an extent as to fit closely or to cause a packing ring associated therewith to t closely agair st the entire wall of the container at all positions of the ring. In other words, the ring is expanded bythe pressure acting against it and is normally heldin an expanded condition, so that it will readily yield to forces tending to contract or expand further wherever necessary.

This expansion is within the elasticlimit or" the material of which the ring is composedl and maintains the ring in a constant state `of tension. This condition of elastic extension or expansion oi the ring produces the highly desirable result that when the ring encounters an` inwardlyv extending irregularity in the inner surface of the shell the ring will not bulge inwardly andspring away from such Wall and 'create a gap, would be the case if the ring were initially constructed so as to t closely against the shell, but, on the contrary, the ring will contract circumferentially. In this Way, variations in the internal diameter of the shell will beiollowed by further expansion or by contraction o1" the circumference of the ring, so that the latter Will conform'very closely to the inner contour of the shell and thereby pro,- duce an eiicient and reliable seal with the shell.

While I prefer to retain the ring at all times in a condition of partial expansion, I may so proportion my ring, relatively to the gasometer,V wall, that no expansion is necessary initially to maintain a tight fit. In that casethe pressure of the weighted levers will cause the ring to expand wherever expansion is necessary to adjust itself to irregularities, whereas, on the other hand, the natural elasticity of the ring will permit it to contract Wherever contraction is. necessary to adjust to irregularities.

The number oi weighted levers h to be employed will obviously depend upon the `size of the gasonieter, the magnitude of the weights i (or the strength` of the springs if such are employed in place of Weights as shown in my U. S.j Patent No. 1,481,099), the extent to which the material of the ring can be stretched Withoutl producing a permanent set, and the degree of pressure which the ringV is to exert upon the` inner Wall of the gasometer, such degree of pressure depending largely upon the pressure of the gas Within the gasometer. Preferably I use, for expanding a ring adapted to t a gasometer of Eil meters diameter, a Weighted lever for every Il@ cm to 5) cm of circumference, or sorne what in excess of 3c@ levers altogether. The unit pressure the ring Which is required to kproduce a definite expansion can be readily ascertained. A simple calculation shows for example that in a gasorneter of about 59 meters diameter and at a pressure of 0.1 lig/cm2 an iron ring of 2.5 min thickness possesses such an elastic extensibility that it can yield at any point about 1' cm in a diainetral direction, which is completely sufficient even 'for rather large irregularities.

The loading of the ring can also be effected, in place of the levers and Weights, by means of liquid or air pressure or other suitable means, such as springs, Without in any Way departing from the principle of the invention. In my claims l refer to such various means as means for exerting substantially uniform pressure against the circumierential surface of said ring sufficient to press the same against the .inner surface of the gasometer shell. rThe ring itself may be composed of strips of sheet metal which are so joined in a circumferential direction by Welding, riveting or otherwise, that a substantially ui iform ring, referred to in my claims as an integral ring, having the above-described properties is produced. The ring maybe composed of iron, copper or any other suitable metallic material provided that it has the necessary strength and elasticity. Copper and also alumi num appear to be especially suitable because of their low moduli of elasticity.

From Fig. 2 it will be clear that the ring f is loaded from the interior thereof throughout its entire circumference. The small arrows indicate diagrammatically the direction of the pressure exerted by the levers h and weights i against the ring f but not, of course, the number of -levers to be employed. It can be readily seen that the elastic elongation or enlargement of the di"- ameter of the ring under the action of the `Weighted levers permits the ring to follow closely Whatever irregularities of the inner shell surface it may encounter.

rhe packing or sealing bodies g are not essential for the proper action of the ring y' and may for that reason be omitted and then the ring alone is sufficient as a sealing means, the wall of the gasometer sliding thereon as shown in Figli. rhe introduction of the sealing or lubrin eating means into the -gap between the disc and the shell can be accomplished in any Well-known manner should it be desired to dispense With the filling of the annular trough with sealing liq uid. There may also be employed, for example, a series of superposed sealing bodies, the space between them being filled with the lubricating or sealing means. Of course, if desired, such special sealing means may be dispensed with.

Variations may be resorted to Within the scope of the claims Without .departing from the spirit of the invention. It is obvious that my sealing ring may be used as a sealing element in connection with closures other than those of disc gasometers or other than disc gasometers of annular cross-section, for instance, gasometers of polygonal cross-section; and further that such ring need not be circular but may assume the form of the container to which it is applied. I therefore Wish it to be understood that Where in the claims I employ the term ring inclu 'le thereby all closed rings or loops Whether curvilinear or polygonal in outline.

I claim:

1. 1n a waterless gasometer adapted for use in storing large quantities of gas in the open underexposure to the elements, and having a shell or" substantially circular cross-section and a disc adapted to act as a closure member, a sealing lement connected with such disc, which element includes an integral metal ring of substantially uniform cross-section and strength throughout, and therefore capable of uniform circumferential expansion and contraction throughout substantially the Whole body of said ring, and means for exerting sabstamially uniform pressure against the circumferential surface of said ring ient to press the same against the inner surface of the gasorneter shell and against the inner resistance of the ring, the relation between the external diameter of the 'ring and the internal diameter of the gasometer being such that said pressure means produces no permanent set in said ring.

2. A structure as set forth in claim 1 in which the metal ring is of smaller external diameter under the normal conditions of operation than the internal diameter of the gasometer but Vof a diameter sufficiently large to permit the means for exerting substantially uniform pressure thereagainst to press the same into contact with the inner surface Vof the gasometer shell, whereby such ring is under tension when acting as a sealing element. 

